Meet ‘Rony,’ the newest Bend police K-9

The Bend Police Department on Wednesday announced “Rony” as the newest canine addition to the force, succeeding retiring hard-working pooch “Zlatan.”

Rony is a 20-month-old male Belgian Malinois purchased from Adlerhorst International, a reputable canine vendor out of Riverside, California, said Lt. Nick Parker.

The purchase was made possible by a donation from the Angela D. Collier Foundation. a non-profit organization focusing efforts on animal-related services.

Officer Erick Supplee has been selected to handle Rony, who comes to the department initially trained in obedience, handler protection and area searches.

Supplee and Rony recently passed Oregon Police Canine Association standards after an extensive four-week training period. The team is set to begin their first patrol shift together next week.

Supplee is a veteran police officer with over 11 years of service, and Rony is not his first four-legged partner.

Supplee until recently had the opportunity to work with “Zlatan” for the past 6 1/2 years. Zlatan retired last month at the age of 10 and is looking forward to relaxing with the Supplee family. It’s a common practice with retired police canines as they become part of the handler’s family.

Supplee and Zlatan had an impressive career. The team was deployed about 800 times and captured or assisted in the arrest of 99 suspects, recovered 38 items of evidence and located seven missing persons. The team also conducted numerous demonstrations at local schools, meetings and functions.

The Bend Police Department would like to thank the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office for assisting in training Officer Supplee and Rony. Their personnel provided additional expertise and knowledge that will help the team become successful.